Rescue Me
by Souigintou
Summary: AU. DeiSaku. One day at school, Sakura is taken hostage by an intruder. Nobody tries to save her, but nobody give into his commands. As Sakura is about to be killed, someone comes to save her, but why would a thug like this guy want to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**My first romance story. I really hope it doesn't suck.**

**Also, even though I write like Sakura is 'obsessed' with Sasuke, that isn't the pairing for this fic. It says clearly in the summary that this is a DeiSaku fic. Sorry for any confusion.**

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><p>Sakura's POV<p>

I woke up to my alarm blaring in my ear, like usual. I got up and turned it off, wishing I could go back to sleep, but I had to go to school, so that was impossible at the moment.

I picked out my school uniform and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I let the hot water wake me up a little before I shampooed and soaped.

Once I had gotten out of the shower and dried off, I put my uniform on and went downstairs. I packed my lunch, along with my books and homework. I checked the clock and realized I was running late, which meant I'd have to skip breakfast this morning. Darn…

I walked out the door and started in the direction of the school. There was enough time to stop by Sasuke's house on my way there, so I decided to go for it.

I was about to come up to Sasuke's house, when I saw Naruto standing on his porch. I ran up to meet him.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? You never walk to school with me and Sasuke," I said, coming onto Sasuke's porch as well.

"Hi, Sakura," he sighed, blushing. He shook his head and focused back on my question. "I forgot to do my homework, so I was going to ask Sasuke if I could copy his."

"You idiot! Why would Sasuke ever let you copy his homework? He's better then that."

"What am I supposed to do? Tell the teachers that I forgot to do it all?" He yelled angrily.

"Yeah, because you obviously _did_ forget to do it!."

"Whatever. I might as well ask," he rang the doorbell and it opened up. Sasuke was standing at the door, with his face as expressionless and adorable as ever.

"What do you two want?" He groaned.

"I need to copy your homework," Naruto shouted.

I slapped him. "Don't yell at him. He didn't do anything!"

"No," Sasuke answered. He stepped onto the porch, closed the door behind him and walked past us. We continued onto the sidewalk and in the direction of the school.

"Why's he so emo all the time?" Naruto asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, first he has to deal with you, and then there's also the fact that he lives alone. His brother killed his family and joined a gang, remember?" How could Naruto have forgotten that? Was he that stupid? Why would I ask myself that? Of course he's that stupid..

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh.' You should stop annoying Sasuke!" I stepped off the porch and continued in the direction of the school. I ran ahead and caught up with Sasuke.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I came to walk with you. We always walk to school together. Don't you remember?"

"I try not to," he sped on ahead. I didn't bother catching up with him. He obviously needed some time alone since he had to deal with Naruto this morning.

I continued walking until I got to the school. As I was about to enter, I saw a group of boys and one girl standing around outside the school. They all wore matching black jackets with red cloud patterns, and among them, I saw Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha. How did Sasuke not notice them as he was coming in?

I heard one of them snicker and I looked over to see what was so funny. I saw one of them whispering to his friend. He had blonde hair. Half of it was in a ponytail, and the other half hung loose and covered the left side of his face. His friend had pinkish red hair and an emotionless face.

I ignored them and continued into the school. I went into the sophomore wing and walked over to my locker. I started switching the things I had at the moment for the things I needed for first period.

"Hey, forehead," my friend Ino laughed from her locker. "I hear Sasuke rejected you this morning."

"Only because he was annoyed from seeing Naruto," I shot back, irritated with her always trying to outdo me and her pathetic attempts to win Sasuke's affections.

"That's what you think. Maybe Sasuke just isn't as into you as you thought?" she laughed, stuffing her backpack into her locker.

"Go ahead and think that, Ino-pig. But I assure you that Sasuke likes _me_, and _not_ you," I said, shoving _my_ backpack into my locker, only harder.

"There is always the chance that he does not like either of you, in which case, I beg the beautiful Sakura to come on a date with me," an annoying voice said from behind me. I turned around to see eyebrow boy, looking as dumb as ever.

"No way! Why can't you just leave me along, you loser?" I screamed, slamming my locker shut and heading off to class.

"Wait! Sakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He called after me, but I ignored him.

I walked into the classroom and took my seat next to Tenten. Tenten and I didn't speak as soften as I did with Ino, but I guess we could be called friends.

The final bell rang just as Naruto ran into the classroom. The entire class stared at him as he made his way to the back of the classroom and into his seat behind Sasuke. Lucky Naruto… he got to sit behind Sasuke…

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi-sensei said as he walked into the room a few minutes later, reading his book.

"You're always late," I murmured to myself.

"What was that, Sakura?" He asked in an amused tone. I swear, that guy has the ears of a hawk. Wait… do hawks have ears? Whatever. The guy could hear well. End of story

"Nothing," I laughed nearvously.

"As long as you're not texting your friends about 'the way Sasuke's hair shines in the light and how his eyes are like to clear, black pools of beauty'." The entire class started to crack up. Well, everyone except Sasuke, who just sat there, staring off into space. Thank goodness he wasn't listening.

"You read through my sent messages when you confiscated my phone, didn't you?" I shouted. "Perverts like you should be arrested!"

"I'm your teacher. I have a right to know what you're saying about Sasuke."

_If he went through my sent messages, he was sure to have read through my inbox as well… Oh, I can't wait to see how Ino-pig reacts when she finds out that Kakashi-sensei read all the poems she wrote about Sasuke… hehehe…_I thought to myself.

"Sakura's love-life aside, it's time to begin the lesson," he went up to the front of the room and started blabbing on about who knows what. I eventually zoned out, lost in thought, but for some reason, it wasn't Sasuke that entered my mind, but the gang that was outside school this morning. Especially the blonde one. I had to admit… he was pretty cute.

…

Deidara's POV

I walked into the alley we always hung out in to speak with my friend Sasori. For some reason, I couldn't get the girl I had seen this morning out of my head.

I saw him sitting on a dumpster, messing with some kind of puppet doohickey.

"Sasori, did you see the pink-haired girl this morning, yeah?" I asked my friend.

He looked up angrily as to answer my question. "Who? The one you pointed out to me? No, I never saw _her_," he said sarcastically. He drew his attention back to what he was working on.

"That one, yeah," I said, sitting on the dumpster as well.

"What about her?" He didn't even look away from what he was doing this time.

"Do you know who she is?"

"If I remember correctly, her name is Sakura or something. She's a classmate of Itachi's brother, Sasuke." How come he always seemed to know everything while I was left in the dark?

"Sakura, eh?" Sakura. What an artistic name.

"Why do you care?"

"No reason. Just curious, I guess, yeah," I hopped off the dumpster.

"You better not be doing what I think you're doing," he got up off the dumpster as well, and left the alley, controlling the puppet he had made. He and the puppet walked alongside each other and left.

What could he possible think I was doing?

…

Sakura's POV

I raised my hand for Kakashi-sensei to see. I didn't have a question; I just needed to get out of the classroom before I died of boredom. Kakashi-sensei didn't see my hand, and I doubt he would have turned around any time soon. "Ahem," I grunted. He glanced over his shoulder, but didn't pay me any mind. "Ahem!" I grunted again, but louder. He didn't turn around or even glance over his shoulder this time. "AHEM!" I practically shouted.

He turned around and looked straight at me. "Is there a problem, Sakura?" He asked, sarcasm tracing his words.

"May I please go get a drink of water?" I grumbled. I was getting so pissed at this guy.

"Of course. All you had to do was ask," he chuckled.

I smiled sarcastically and walked out of the room. I sighed as I closed the door behind me and went over to the drinking fountain. Why was he so annoying? I lowered my head and pressed the button, and water came out. I slurped it up, but I was rudely interrupted when an alarm started to sound off.

It wasn't fire drill, or tornado, but something else. It was the alarm for an intruder. Strange. The principal would usually come on the intercom before having an intruder drill. Oh well. I walked casually back to the classroom, but before I could open the door, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned around, expecting Iruka-sensei, or Guy-sensei, or even one of the thugs, but instead, there was a man in a black hoodie. The shadow of his hood covered his eyes, and he had a gun pointed at my back.

"Just be nice, Pinky, and I won't hurt you," he hissed bitterly.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to hide my fear. Why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it be eyebrows? Or Naruto? Or Ino? It could have been anyone, but it had to be me…

"Money. Valuables. Stuff like that, but nobody will take me seriously if I don't have a hostage, and I think I just found one," he explained. I gasped quietly at the thought of him holding me at gunpoint for other people's things. And all I could do was hope somebody came and saved me.

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><p><strong>Bumbumbum! Please reveiw. I hope you liked it.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Deidara's POV

I sat on the front steps of the high school. There was nothing better to do except wait for the Sakura girl to come out. That, or argue about art with Sasori, but we did that every other day, so I decided against it.

I got bored and walked up the steps and up to the door. I pulled on it, but it was locked. From inside, I could hear an alarm sounding off. An intruder drill? No… they don't lock their doors during a drill, do they?

I cupped my hands around my eyes and looked in through the windows on the doors. I could see the secretary, but she wasn't moving. I squinted a little, and saw that she had blood leaking from her head. Her entire body was still, so I assumed that she had been shot. This definitely wasn't a drill.

I sighed in frustration and took out a piece of clay from my pocket. This was special clay of my own design. It detonated when you gave the command. With this, I could easily blow up the door.

I shaped the clay into a small spider, and placed it near the door. I took a few steps back, and made the hand signal that activated the clay. "Katsu!" I shouted for effect.

There was a loud boom, and once the smoke from the explosion cleared; there was a hole in the doors just big enough for me to get in and out easily. Now to find out who was in the school and what he was doing.

…

Sakura's POV

"Tell me which one of these classrooms has the most people in them," the man said, jabbing the gun into my back.

"I told you, I don't know!" I said, fighting to hold back my tears. I wasn't going to cry. I promised myself that I wouldn't be so useless, and that I wouldn't cry anymore. I looked back at the man with hate-filled eyes. Why was he doing this? I didn't know which class was the biggest. Why would he think I did?

"Don't play with me, Pinky. I _always_ get what I want. And if you think you can stop me, then you've got another thing coming."

I wanted to scream out for help, but I knew he would probably shoot me if I did. All I could do was pray that somebody, anybody, even Naruto, would come to save me.

…

Deidara's POV

I hadn't realized what I was actually doing until I got into the school. Why was I risking my ass to save this place? It's not like I cared, and I didn't even go here during my high school years either.

I shrugged it off and continued through the school.

Junior wing… empty.

Senior wing… empty.

Freshman wing… empty.

Then I came to the sophomore wing, and my search was finished. I saw a man in a hoodie holding a gun up to a girl's back.

I walked a little closer before saying or doing anything, but then I realized that the girl he had his gun pointed at was Sakura. All of a sudden, I got incredibly angry at the man. Why was I so upset? It's not like I'd be upset if anyone from the gang were in Sakura's position.

…

Sakura's POV

"I'm not one who's patient with people like you, so I suggest you cooperate and answer my question," the man said again, only angrier. He was definitly angrier, but he wasn't yelling as much since the alarm had finally stopped. "I suggest you tell me, or you'll never live to see tomorrow."

"I. Don't. Know," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't scared. I glanced back and finally got a good look at his face, since he had taken the hood off. He had a boney face, and a hooked nose. His eyes were big, brown and angry, and he had a messy head of brown hair that matched his eyes. But still, he was hideous compared to everyone else I knew. Even eyebrow boy.

"I'm done with this!" He shouted. He shoved me to the ground and pointed the gun at me as well. "Say goodbye, Pinky," He whispered. I heard the safety latch on the gun release. His finger was on the trigger and he looked ready to pull it at any moment.

"Please don't kill me!" I cried. I could feel hot tears streaming down my face. I could sit there and beg forever, but I knew it wouldn't change his mind. _This is it... I'm going to die here and now... Poor Naruto and Lee... They'll be heartbroken... And Ino will be upset too... But it's not like Sasuke will even care... _I thought.

He pulled the trigger, and for a second, I thought I was dead... But I was drawn back into reality when I felt the stabbing pain in my left leg. He had shot my leg and not my head? Why?

"I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you right now," he chuckled. "You're pretty cute, so I spared you," he said kneeling down to my level. "You have one more chance to answer my question."

"Why are you doing this? Can't you just leave us alone?" I yelled through tears.

"Sorry, but I can't do that," he pointed the gun at me again and undid the safety latch. "So what's it going to be?"

"YOU BASTARD!" A voice yelled out of nowhere. The man turned his head in the direction of the voice, but instead of seeing who was speaking, a fist made impact with his face.

"What the hell?" He shouted, wiping the blood off his mouth.

"Don't touch Sakura, yeah!" I saw the blonde one with the ponytail from Itachi's gang standing in front of the man, his big blue eyes filled with rage. But... How did he know my name?

"So you know this girl? I apologize. She's such a pain in the-" he was cut off by another punch to the face.

"SHUT UP!" He punched him again, knocking him to the ground. He kicked the gun away from the man and started stomping on his chest. "How dare you come here and hurt her, yeah," he screamed, stomping harder, this time on his face. He continued on like this, and didn't stop when the man started screaming out in pain.

"Stop it!" I said eventually. "You're killing him."

"That's the point!" The blonde one stepped back from the man, whose face had become a broken and bloody mess.

"Well stop it. If you kill him, then you're no better then he is."

"I have to kill him... He almost killed you, yeah..."

"But he didn't," I spat. "You came and saved me, and I don't want the person who saved me to be a murderer. Please. For me, okay?"

"Alright," he sighed, sounding flustered and angry.

I looked at him closer. He was extremely handsome, but from afar, I could have easily mistaken him for a woman. "If you don't mind me asking... Can I know your name?"

He looked at me, shocked. "It's Deidara," he answered. I swear he was blushing, but I might have been wrong.

I stood up, grimacing at the pain when I put weight on my left leg. Deidara rushed over to help me, acting as a human crutch.

"You shouldn't be walking, or even standing for that matter, yeah," he growled.

"I'm fine," I winced. Okay, so I wasn't fine, but that didn't matter. "Help me back over to my classroom, please," I requested.

"Sure thing," he helped me over to the door of my classroom. He opened it for me and we went in. I turned on the lights, and everyone looked at us awkwardly. Gasps of horror started to fill the room. I couldn't tell if it was because they saw my injury, or if it was because they knew who Deidara was.

"Sakura! Are you okay?" Naruto asked, sounding more worried then I'd ever heard him.

Everyone stood up from where they were hiding in the corners. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei came over to me while everyone else sat down at their desks.

"Who's he?" Naruto asked bluntly, pointing at Deidara.

"This is Deidara. He saved me from the intruder," I smiled at Deidara and he started blushing again.

"That jacket he's wearing..." Sasuke said. "He's a member of that Akatsuki gang that hangs out around the school."

"What does it matter, Sasuke?" Kakashi-sensei shrugged. "If it wasn't for him, Sakura would most likely be dead. We should be thankful."

"Whatever," Sasuke said, going back to his desk.

"Sakura, I'll call the police," Kakashi-sensei said. "In the meantime, explain to me what happened. Your friend can come too," he pointed at Deidara. He shooed Naruto back to his seat and turned to the class. "Silent reading until the police get here," he instructed.

"Where are we going? To the front office?" I asked. He nodded and led us out of the room. We walked through the hall, ignoring the beaten up man on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's another chapter of Rescue Me.**

**Geez, I'm so addicted to DeiSaku right now, expect more chapters to come soon!**

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><p>Sakura's POV<p>

Once we arrived in the lobby, I saw that the front doors had been blown up and the secretary had been shot. I tried to hide my shock, but my eyes were fixed on the bloody corpse.

I must have lost my footing and tripped while I was staring, because next thing I knew, I was falling towards the ground.

"Sakura!" Deidara said, worried. I saw him swing his arm from around my shoulder and catch me before I hit the ground.

His face was about an inch from mine, and turning a bright red. He quickly helped me back to my feet and got back in the position he was in before when he was only helping me walk, but I felt him hold a little tighter, to prevent me from falling again.

I felt myself blush, but I quickly brushed it off and followed Kakashi-sensei into the front office. We continued into the principal's office. She stood up; shocked when she saw us enter.

"Kakashi," she said. "Why are you here? We're in the middle of lockdown."

"I don't think that's anything to worry about, Tsunade. The intruder has been taken care of, and if you haven't noticed, the secretary has been killed and the fronts doors blown up." Deidara chuckled nervously when he mentioned the doors.

The principal sat back down in her chair and brought the speaker for the intercom closer to her. She held down a button and began to speak, "The intruder has been taken care of. All teachers and students are to remain inside their classrooms until further notice. Thank you," she finished speaking and took her finger off the button. "So where is the intruder?"

"Beaten up and bleeding all over the Sophomore Wing," Kakashi-sensei said cheerfully. I couldn't see his mouth, but I could tell he was smiling. The principal buried her face in her hands and groaned angrily.

"Excuse me for a moment while I call the police to have him picked up," Kakashi-sensei said, leaving the room and taking out his cell phone.

A few seconds later, he came back in. He took a seat in one of the chairs.

"Sakura, you and your friend sit down and explain to me what happened while we wait for the police," he said. Tsunade looked ready to kill him for giving out orders while in her office, but she cooled off in as little as a couple of seconds.

Deidara and I both sat down. I started to explain what had happened, starting when I left the room to get a drink of water, and ending at when Deidara arrived. I looked at him, signaling for him to take over. He nodded and explained how he saved me from the man with the gun and how he beat him bloody. If Tsunade or Kakashi-sensei were shocked at any point, they never showed it.

Finally, we heard police sirens outside the school. We all left the office and continued into the lobby. The police officers came in through the hole in the door, which I assumed had been made by Deidara when he came in originally.

"So where's the man who came into the school?" One of them asked. She had brown eyes and long purple hair. Purple hair? Well, I shouldn't be one to judge, considering my own hair color.

...

Sasori's POV

Where was that stupid Deidara? I hadn't seen him since he asked me about the Sakura girl earlier.

I walked into the alley where Itachi and Kisame were gambling with Pein and Konan. They were playing some kind of game with cards, but I wasn't sure what it was specifically.

"Have any of you seen Deidara?" I asked.

"No," Kisame grunted, slapping a three down on the box that acted as their table, "Ninety-nine to Konan!" he shouted.

"I haven't seen him either," Konan said, placing a nine on top of the three. She smirked at Pein, who sat there, emotionless. "Your turn."

"Nor have I," he said as he placed a ten on the nine. "Eighty-nine to you, Itachi," he said.

Itachi put a queen on the ten. "Ninety-nine, back to you, Kisame. And I haven't seen Deidara either."

"Back to you, Itachi!" Kisame yelled, as he slammed a four on the table.

"Damn this game," Itachi said, throwing his cards down and leaving.

"Sore loser!" Kisame shouted after him. He picked up all the cards and took Pein and Konan's as well. He began to shuffle them, and once he was finished he dealt them out and they continued with their game.

"Do any of you know where he might be?" I asked, getting fed up with their stupid game.

"I believe Zetsu said that he saw him in front of the high school earlier," Konan said as she placed a six on the table.

I left the alley and continued down the sidewalk until I reached the school.

I saw that the front doors had been blown up and there were police cars parked in front. I had a feeling he would be in the school, but did he have to blow up the doors? And what's with the police?

Damn Deidara. What was he getting himself into?

…

Deidara's POV

I glanced at Sakura as she explained to the cops what happened. Would she include how I planned to kill the man and would have if she hadn't stopped me? And how would the police react if she did?

"Then, when the man was about to kill me, Deidara came in and saved me!" She smiled at me. Her smile was genuine and sweet, unlike the shifty smirks and snarky grins I received from the rest of the gang. I smiled back, but then she turned back to the police and resumed her story. "And that's it," she said when she finally finished.

"Alright. There's an ambulance outside waiting to take you to the hospital. Can you make it on your own?" The lady with the purple hair asked.

"I'll help her, yeah," I offered. I helped Sakura onto her feet and out of the room. We continued down the hall and into the lobby. I swear I saw movement in one of the plants by the door, but I guessed it was only my imagination.

As we exited the school, I glanced into the alley. Thankfully, nobody from the gang was there to see me helping Sakura. I helped Sakura into the ambulance, and hopped in as well.

"I hope you don't mind me tagging along," I said. "I want to make sure you're okay, yeah."

"I don't mind at all. And if you had decided not to come, I would have asked you anyway."

I felt my face turning bright red as they closed the doors to the ambulance and started the engine. Crap! Why was I blushing?

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it, and please reveiw. Reveiws are my core motivation to write more!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Sasori's POV

_So he's helping the Sakura girl, is he? I was fine with him bursting into the school, but I can't stand for this. Helping people is against Akatsuki rules! He'll be banned for this! And if he leaves... That stupid Tobi kid who stalks Zetsu will join... _Shivers went up mine spine thinking about Tobi joining the Akatsuki.

I stood up from where I was hiding behind one of the plants inside the school and left the building. Well, if Deidara wanted to fall in love with a little girl, that was all on him, but I wasn't about to have Tobi join us.

I walked a few blocks down the street and into one of the alleys where Kisame, Konan and Pein were still playing their dumb game. Itachi had returned to the alley and was now waiting intently along with Konan who seemed to have gotten knocked out of the game as well.

"Itachi, Kisame. I need your help with something," I said. Itachi and Kisame both shushed me until I was quiet. Kisame glared at Pein and put a four on top of the pile of cards. "What's going on?"

"Shut up!" Konan hissed. "Pein and Kisame are the only two left. There's two-hundred bucks on the table, and I don't plan on missing a second of this."

"Is it that big a deal? It's a card game between the four of you."

"It's bigger then that. Kakuzu and Hidan were playing earlier and that's where we got the cash. None of us paid a cent for the prize."

"So what?"

"Just be quiet!"

I shut up and watched as Pein and Kisame kept throwing down cards, laughing occasionally. Konan was siding with Pein from the looks of it, since she kept looking at his cards, and the same with Itachi, but with Kisame.

Kisame started laughing manically and smiling at his cards.

"Nice poker face," I sighed sarcastically. This was ridiculous. This was a life or death situation, and the two people I could trust most with this kind of thing... Were playing cards. They were pretty much sentencing us to eternal Tobi…

"Eat it, bitch!" Kisame screamed as he slammed a jack on the table.

Pein put a nine on the table without a word.

Kisame angrily slammed another nine down.

Pein calmly placed yet another nine on the table.

Kisame put a ten down.

Pein threw a queen down.

Kisame slapped down a four.

"This is intense," Itachi muttered.

Pein put down a four.

Kisame put another four on top of Pein's and smirked.

Pein angrily put a nine on the pile.

Kisame slapped down yet another nine.

"Wait!" Konan yelled. "Kisame is cheating."

Itachi and I looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm actually quite surprised that you didn't notice it, Itachi... Kisame just put down a nine, but that's the fifth nine played this round, and we haven't even reshuffled the deck yet."

"Is this true?" Itachi asked.

"..." Kisame didn't answer. "This game is stupid anyway. What does it matter?" he threw his cards down and walked away to go sulk in the emo corner. Sometimes I start to think I'm the only sane one in the organization…

"Congratulations, Pein," Itachi said, following Kisame out of the alley. I followed behind, leaving Pein and Konan in the alley with his winnings. "What were you asking us about earlier?"

"I need your help with something. It's about Deidara."

"What about him? He's always calling me ugly..." Kisame said from where he was sitting, a black cloud looming over his head and... were those mushrooms?

…

Sakura's POV

After the doctor removed the bullet and bandaged the wound I received from the gun, he called my parents to pick me up, but they would take a while to get there, so I had to wait in this stupid hospital for half an hour. Well, I guess it wouldn't be so bad. Deidara would be with me, at least.

"About what Sasuke said earlier," I started. "About how you're a member of the Akatsuki..."

"What about it, yeah?"

"Well, when did you join them?"

"Five years ago, when I was fourteen," so he's nineteen? That's not too far off from me, is it? I mean, I'm sixteen.

"Did you want to join or were you forced to? And are you glad you did join?"

"I was forced into it, and in a way, yes, I'm pretty happy I joined. I guess one could say that if I wasn't a member of the Akatsuki, I never would have met you." I guess that's true, since he first saw me when he was hanging out with the others.

...

Itachi's POV

After Sasori had explained the situation to Kisame and I, we agreed to help. Well, I agreed to help and Kisame was only tagging along to see what kind of a train wreck this would end up in.

"When did you last see Deidara?" I asked.

"He was getting in an ambulance with a girl from the school," Sasori explained. We all continued towards the hospital for the next few minutes in silence, but once we reached the hospital, Kisame spoke up.

"Why the hell are we helping this kid again?"

"I guess I never really explained that, did I?" Sasori asked. "You should know, that if any member leaves the Akatsuki, Zetsu's friend, Tobi, will most likely join." Not the Tobi kid… Anything but that. I've seen him, and nobody should be put through that. For longer then ten minutes.

"We can't let that happen," Kisame nodded and kept walking towards the hospital along with me and Sasori.

…

Deidara's POV

"I'm tired of talking about me. What about you? Tell me something about _your_ life, yeah," I finally said after ten minutes of my back-story.

"Are you sure? It's not very exciting," she blushed. Just then, two people came in the room and I assumed they were her parents.

"Hi, mom, dad," she smiled in their direction. "You're early. The doctor said you wouldn't here for a half hour."

"Well, there was no traffic and we hit all green lights, so we were able to get here faster then expected," her mom said happily. She glanced a little in my direction, and got a somewhat uneasy look on her face, but brushed it off and drew her attention back to Sakura. Sakura's dad on the other hand… he was giving me the evil eye.

Sakura must have noticed her dad glaring at me because she spoke up. "Mom, dad, this is Deidara," she gestured towards me. "He was the one who saved me."

"Really?" her dad grimaced as if I was a pus spewing pile of mystery meat. I could tell her dad and I were going to get along great…

"Thank you for saving Sakura," her mom smiled, but I could tell it was fake. I'm sure she was thankful; she just wanted to be thankful to someone else. "I'm not sure what we would have done without her."

"It was no trouble, yeah."

"I'm sure it was trouble… your kind can't do good…" her dad muttered. Okay. He was staring to piss me off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura said those words before I could even think about saying them. "Deidara may be a gang member, but that doesn't mean he can't do good. He saved my life and I'm thankful. If you aren't then that's your problem, but keep it to yourself." And she's saying all this to her dad. Respect.

"Sakura, I'm sorry," he sighed. "Let's just go home, okay?"

"Alright," she nodded. I'm sure she was happy to be able to leave. After almost dying, getting wheeled off to a hospital and making friends with someone that everyone you know seems to hate, I'd want to get away from it too.

After Sakura and her parents talked for a while and discussed some things with the doctor, we headed out. I didn't plan on tailing Sakura home, and I'm sure her parents were thankful for that.

I said goodbye to Sakura and headed back towards the alley near the school where the Akatsuki usually hung out. I was about halfway there, when…

"Have fun?" A familiar voice asked from behind me. I turned around to see Sasori, Itachi and Kisame standing there, looking at me disapprovingly. What did _they_want?

"What's that supposed to mean, yeah?" I snapped. Well, what was it supposed to mean? As everyone knows, I'm not the smartest member of the Akatsuki.

"You're not supposed to help people. We're a gang of criminals, not a bunch of sissy do-gooders," Sasori replied. I help one person, and suddenly I'm a 'sissy do-gooder'? Dude knows how to overreact.

"Why do you care? You said I was a brat, so what does it matter if I get kicked out?" I knew why he wanted me to stay. It was because of that stupid Tobi kid that followed Zetsu.

"Why did you help her? This isn't like you to help a random girl off the streets," When would he give up with the questions? I mean, if nobody told Pein about this, then it wouldn't be an issue. Still... I had to answer his question anyway.

"You know, Sasori... It wasn't clear to me at first either, yeah. I had no idea why I was helping her, but now I know," I stopped and glanced at his face. He was looked at me, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what I was about to say. Itachi and Kisame matched his expression, and looked at me just as angrily.

And then, I screamed it out for the world to hear.

"I'm in love with Sakura Haruno!"

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it, and please reveiw. I'm always much more motivated when you guys reveiw.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Deidara's POV

"I'm in love with Sakura Haruno!" I shouted those words proudly, but soon regretted it when Sasori came up to me and jabbed his hand into my gut. I grunted and fell, doubled over in pain.

I tried to stand up, but before I could, Sasori landed a foot on my face and kicked me to the ground. I didn't bother getting up. I knew he'd only kick me back down again.

"What's wrong, Deidara?" He laughed. "Not getting up, are you? Come on, beating you up won't be nearly as much fun if you aren't struggling when I do it!" He was laughing louder, like some deranged anime character. I glanced up at Itachi and Kisame, who were walking away, wanting no part of what was about to happen.

I was interrupted when Sasori's foot stomped down on my chest, hard. _This is probably what that guy in the school felt like. Damn. I've got a newfound respect for him. This is painful. _I thought, as my friend continued to stomp on me.

I must have started smirking at one point, because the next thing I heard him shout was, "Wipe that damned grin off your face! How can you stand to smile when your best friend hates you?" He started stomping harder, and quicker. That was going to hurt in the morning.

"Why...do you...care...so much...anyway?" I yelled, between his stomps. He stopped and stepped back.

"You're right. I shouldn't care so much."

Inside my head, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oops," he said as he stepped on my face. He continued past, no doubt on his way to the alley to inform Pein of what I did. Well, I could say goodbye to my days in the Akatsuki…and my nose. Dear God, I think he broke it.

I lay on the ground for a while. I didn't plan on getting up anytime soon, but eventually, a girl walked past and screamed.

For a split second I thought it was Sakura, but then realized it wasn't. She had blonde hair, pulled up into a bun and wore purple. Her eyes were blue and I didn't believe she had any pupils.

"What happened to you?" She asked, kneeling down to inspect my broken face. I didn't reply. "I'm calling an ambulance. Just stay there and don't die." She took out a cellphone and dialed 911.

She talked with the person on the other line for a few seconds, and then hung up.

"Don't worry; they'll be here in a few minutes. Hey, that jacket of yours looks really familiar. Would by chance be a member of a gang called the Akatsuki?"

I nodded weakly.

"Blonde hair and blue eyes..." she thought aloud to herself. "You're that Deidara guy that Sakura told me about, aren't you?"

I brightened up a bit after hearing that this girl knew Sakura. She saw my reaction and nodded, acting like she had known it from the very beginning.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that Sakura likes you. Oh, my name is Ino, by the way."

Soon after that, I heard the sirens of an ambulance and other emergency vehicles. Looks like I'd be going to the hospital for a second time today, but this time, as a patient.

...

Sakura's POV

I sat at my desk and worked on my homework. So what, I got shot in the leg? It didn't excuse me from doing my homework. I had been staring at the same problem for ten minutes and still didn't know what to do. My mind was blank, and I couldn't stop thinking of Deidara. How would the other members of his gang react when they found out that he had helped me? They were a sinister looking bunch and I don't think they helped people very often.

My thoughts were cut short when my phone went off. I picked it up and looked at the name. It was Ino... What did she want? "Hello?" I said, into the speaker.

"Yo, Forehead! You won't believe this, but that Deidara guy you were talking about is in the hospital right now," she exclaimed. I stood up in my chair when I heard her news, but sat back down with the pain I had in my leg.

"What happened? Is he alright?" I gasped.

"He passed out, so we don't know what happened yet. He should be fine. The doctor said his injuries weren't too bad. Just a fractured rib, but they're still trying to figure out if his nose is broken or not."

"Hold on! I'm coming over there!" I shouted into the phone. I hung up and grabbed my crutches from where they were leaning on the wall. I rushed downstairs to where my mom and dad were sitting in the living room. "Mom, can you drive me to the..." I was about to say hospital, but stopped. They hated Deidara. Why would they drive me to the hospital to see him?

"Yes, dear? Where do you want me to take you?"

"Uh... Ino asked me to meet her at the ice-cream shop."

"The one near the hospital?" She asked. I guess she bought it. I hoped she did...

I nodded and she got up from where she was sitting. She went into the kitchen and grabbed her keys off the counter, and I followed her out into the garage and into the car.

She started the car up and backed down the driveway, and onto the road. It was silent except for the sound of the car. For some reason, my mom never turned on the radio, but I was too focused on getting to the hospital to notice.

Once mom had dropped me off at the ice-cream shop, she drove off without making sure Ino was even in there. I was thankful for that, and sprinted towards the hospital, which was a few blocks to the west.

I finally reached the hospital after a few minutes of running (or, more of jumping on my crutches). As soon as I entered the lobby, Ino ran up to me.

"Took you long enough," she scolded. "I thought you liked this Deidara guy, so how come it took you so long to get here?" Shut up, Ino...

"Sorry if I don't have a license. And even if I did, I'd still have to get permission from my parents to use the car." Why were we discussing this? "Can I see Deidara? Do you know which room he's in?"

"Yeah, this way," she led me further into the hospital. We were only stopped once, but Ino and I explained why we were here and the doctor escorted us the rest of the way.

We entered the room and I saw Deidara sitting on a hospital bed, just resting. He saw me and smiled a bit. I walked up to his bedside, looked him over a bit more. He didn't look to bad, but his nose was bruised pretty badly. Ino and the doctor left to leave me and Deidara alone.

"What happened to you?" I asked. Whatever it was, I had the sinking feeling that it was my fault somehow.

"I was clumsy and I tripped, yeah..." he started, but I cut him off.

"The truth. You didn't trip, did you?" I could spot a lie when I saw one, and honestly, he wasn't a very good liar.

"Fine," he sighed. "A few members of the gang spotted me when I was on my way back from the hospital earlier. I got cocky and my partner, Sasori, beat me up pretty good."

"Why?" Why did I ask that? I knew it was because of me...

He hesitated before answering. He sighed angrily, obviously unable to come up with a lie to please me. "I'm like this because I helped you." Strangely enough, he didn't sound angry at me.

I'm the reason his best friend beat the crap out of him...and he wasn't angry at all?

…

Deidara's POV

I wasn't angry at Sakura. Not at all. It wasn't her fault in the least bit; it was mine, in fact. I was the one who wanted to save her, and I would bear through the consequences if it meant I was able to be with her forever.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I bet you wished you had never met me," she chuckled weakly.

"No, Sakura, I don't wish that," I raised my hand to her face and started to wipe away her tears. She smiled her thanks, but only started to cry more as a result.

After a minute or two, she stopped crying. "Forgive me. I've always been a big crybaby," she smiled halfheartedly as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I looked at her, and she looked at me. She was beautiful. I moved my head closer to hers, and she did the same. We continued getting closer to each other until out lips were mere centimeters apart. Oh, how I wanted to kiss her… I loved her, and I wanted her to love me back.

We were about to make contact, but before we could, her phone went off, completely spoiling a beautiful moment.

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><p><strong>Fact: At least 50% of you hate Sakura's phone now.<strong>


	6. Good News!

**Sorry to spam your e-mail inboxes with another new chapter of 'not-newness'. But I wanted to let you guys know that (thanks to some very sweet reveiws from Misaki-Sophia and Little-bad-Angel) that I won't be deleting this story, however, it will remain on hiatus for quite some time until I can finish it.**


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